


7734

by Madcinder



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Bad Decisions, End of the World, Extinction, Horror, Infection, Magical Girls, Moral Dilemmas, Suicide, Undead, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-10-12 07:35:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 15,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10485621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madcinder/pseuds/Madcinder
Summary: "City authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living."





	1. Lights And Shadows

Madoka peeked around the corner. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

No reply.

She stepped out into the hallway, blinking several times as she tried to see through the dark. It wasn't working. It was the middle of the night, and she had been awoken by the sound of something crashing against the house's front door. Perhaps, she thought, it had just been her imagination. At worst, it was probably someone knocking on the door who had decided to leave after getting no response. She decided she should wake one of her parents before checking the door herself, just to be extra safe.

Opening her parents' bedroom door, she stepped over to the bed and shook her father awake. "Dad!" She whispered urgently at him. She couldn't wake her mother, who had to be well rested for work. "Dad, wake up. I heard a sound at the door."

After a few moments, she successfully woke her father. He got out of bed, only really half awake, and stumbled out to the hallway. She rushed ahead of him so he wouldn't stumble down the stairs. Leaning against the wall while he finished waking up, he blinked down at his daughter.

"Madoka... what time is it?"

Ducking her head back into her room, Madoka checked her clock. "Just after three."

He groaned. "Why did you get me up this early?"

Madoka dutifully pointed down the stairs. "I think I heard something at the door."

Tomohisa Kaname was a good father and a good man. Good enough to know why Madoka had woken him and not her mother. "Alright, I'll take a look."

They walked down the stairs to the main floor together, heading into the front room. As he was about to head for the door, Tomohisa noticed a light coming through the front window. Curious, he moved over to the window and drew the curtains apart. It took a moment for it to register, but when it did his eyes went wide. He turned to see Madoka standing right behind him.

"Where is the light comi-"

Grabbing his daughter, the man bolted back out of the room. A thunderous crash shook the entire house. A moment passed, and Tomohisa looked back into the room from the floor of the hall. Headlights beaming, a car now sat in the wrecked room. Standing, he checked to see that Madoka was alright. She was shaken, too stunned to speak, but otherwise fine.

Walking to the car, Tomohisa looked in through the shattered window. "Is anyone hurt in there?" The woman at the wheel of the car was dead, blood running off her face and dropping onto the wheel. Tomohisa backed away, talking to his daughter. "Madoka... go check on your brother." It was the only thing he could think of that made sense.

Even as Madoka hurried back up the stairs, the was a knock at the door. Tomohisa could see a shadow through the window, staggering about the front step. A low groan reached his ears. A sickly, dead-sounding groan. There was another groan from beside him. Looking over, he saw the driver of the car lifting her head. A dead look in her eyes, she opened her mouth and growled at him.

Some time in the night, the infection began. All over the world, the dead walked and hunted the living, feasting on flesh. This is the tale of the first night, when hell broke loose on Earth. These are the stories of those who survived.

...and those who didn't.


	2. Out On The Streets

Mami walked along the street alone. It was the dead of night, and all seemed quiet. She held her soul gem in her hands, looking for traces of a witch. Stopping for a moment, she let the absolute stillness of the night sink in. It seemed off, like there was disaster lurking nearby. Peering down at her soul gem again only added confusion. The sense of foreboding was unmistakable, but there was no trace of a witch nearby.

Turning to look behind her, Mami spotted someone shambling slowly down the street. She'd seen people walk like that many times before while under the spell of a witch's kiss. The man approached her, and she expected him to continue right past her. They always did, and they would then lead her to the witch...

As he got closer, he reached out for her. Stunned, she didn't move until his hands gripped her shoulders. His mouth open, he moved in to bite the young teen's neck.

Snapping back to her senses, a moment from what might have been death, Mami shoved the man off of her. The momentum made her fall onto her back, her soul gem falling from her hand. Two more people were behind her suddenly, reaching down and grabbing her arms. They lifted her off the ground as the first man grabbed her left leg. They all moved in to bite.

Still unaware of exactly why these people were acting this way, Mami struck out. She pulled her arms down, keeping them away from the snapping mouths, and kicked her right leg across the first man's face. He dropped her and fell to the ground. With the other two still holding her arms firmly in their hands, any normal schoolgirl would be in for it. Mami, however, just was not a normal schoolgirl.

Getting purchase with her feet, she quickly grabbed her assailants by their wrists and swung her arms over her head, sending them hurtling onto the street. None of the three wasted any time getting back onto their feet, and were all after her right away. The man she had kicked hadn't even gotten up and was crawling toward her. Even as strong as she was, Mami was not about to fight people. She couldn't do it. Not the people she had fought so long to protect.

She danced back to avoid the snapping jaws of the man. They just kept coming. If they were not deterred, she decided, by the next bout, she would have to resort to her powers and a show of force. If they fully understood what they were up against, maybe they would back off.

Mami froze. Her eyes locked on the clear yellow gem resting on the street, clear on the other side of her opponents. She needed her soul gem. She couldn't access her weapons without it. Hoping to disorient the attackers, she rushed the closest, only to find herself heading right into his waiting arms. Twisting away, she ducked under his hands and rammed her elbow into his stomach. He collapsed forward, but only from loss of balance, standing up again immediately. Running past him, she rolled under the other standing man and knocked him onto his face. Jumping up, she felt the first man, the crawling one, grab her ankle. Before she could kick him away, he pulled her foot out from under her. Landing hard, her hand was just an inch from her soul gem.

One kick to the man's face, and the gem was in her hand. A brilliant flash of light, and the simple school uniform was replaced by her battle uniform. The whole transformation took less than a second, and a moment later she had two rifles in her hands. To her shock, however, they didn't seem to notice in the slightest. The man kept crawling towards her, blood coming from where she had kicked his face several times, mouth gaping. Backing away more, so unsure of herself, Mami tripped over the curb. Dropping one gun in order to steady the other with both hands, she watched in horror as the man mindlessly crawled closer, even disregarding when she placed the end of the barrel in his mouth.

He lurched forward, the suddenness of it surprising her. The gun went off, and the back of his neck exploded out behind him. Her eyes wide, Mami was frozen. The other two closed in. Sounds from around her told her there were others approaching, drawn by the sound of gunfire. It was mindless. They were mindless.

...

Shaking herself back to the world, she looked up at the two nearest. The one on the ground had stopped moving. Now that it lay still, she could see the greyed look of the skin. It looked dead, like it had been that way for a while, starting to rot. These people, whoever they were... were already dead.

Mami picked up the other gun and aimed it at the closest one, blasting the top of its head off. She would fight this. More importantly, she would save anyone and everyone she could find. It had always been her mission.


	3. Battery

Kyoko wandered the streets of Kazamino, tracking after a group of people she had spotted walking strangely. It was the way people walked when under a witch's spell, but they were behaving a bit odd for even that. They had gone around the same circle several times, and there was no sign that they would stop. Deciding that she needed to take a step back, Kyoko took up a perch on a lamppost. The group didn't look in immediate danger, so she took a moment to think. If there was a witch involved, it wasn't showing itself.

Closing her eyes, her mind drifted off to other thoughts. She had enough troubles without having to deal with witches. Back at home, her father was furious. He wouldn't talk to anyone, and had driven everyone from the church in anger. The anger wasn't directed at the people, though. It was all directed at her. She wished she hadn't let him find out that she was a Magical Girl. She wished Kyubey would give her another wish.

An unusual sound broke her out of her reverie. Looking down, she found that her lamppost was surrounded by the group she had been following. Standing up, she grimaced at the sight below her. They were crawling over each other, moaning mindlessly as they reached up for her. There was no way they'd manage to get to her, but it was a disturbing sight. Their faces were bloodied, pieces were missing from their bodies, and their eyes were dead and white. She was glad for the lamppost for a number of reasons now, as it had shown her that they were not people anymore.

Kyoko gagged, trying not to think about it. She angled her spear down at the one that had climbed the farthest and thrust, the spearhead tearing its face off. The dead thing fell back into the throng. Swiping at the crowd, two more fell with their heads split open. Raising her spear for another attack, Kyoko froze. She gasped.

All along the street, more of the mindless walking dead shambled aimlessly. Except, of course, their aim for her. They were all headed in her direction. She had no way of knowing how widespread this was. She didn't know anything about how to deal with this. If only her father had let her watch that zombie anime! Then again, it was listed under harem...

Taking another swing at the growing crowd of what she wasn't ready to call zombies, she jumped over their heads to the sidewalk and ran. She had to make it home, in case these really were zombies. Her family would be in danger. Several thoughts ran through her head as she ran through the streets. How widespread was this? Did it cover the city? Was it happening in other cities too? Was it the whole world? Would they stay out of the church?

Minutes passed, dodging groups of more of the dead people. She ran straight up to the front door of her home, bursting through with her battle clothes still on and weapon still in hand. She stopped short when she found herself faced with her sister. It was the middle of the night. She shouldn't have been awake. For a second, Kyoko feared she was facing just another walking dead.

"Kyoko? What are you doing? What are you wearing?"

Kyoko stood wide-eyed. Momo was alive and fine from the looks of it. But her secret was out. "Momo..."

The two girls turned to see their sleepy mother walk out from the hall. "What are you two doing up this late?" She blinked a few times, seeing Kyoko's clothes. "What is this, Kyoko? Is that a... where did you get that weapon?" She looked around Kyoko, at something behind her. "And who is that man?"

Kyoko spun, seeing one of the shamblers only a few feet from the door. Acting on instinct now, her mind thinking of protecting her family first, she swiftly buried her spear in the dead man's chest. To her shock, and from the sounds behind her, her mother and sister's shock as well, the man blindly pushed ahead. He grabbed the spear shaft and pulled himself forward, reaching for her and clawing at her arm. In pain and surprise, she pulled back. The spear cut through his body and head, splitting him in two. Kyoko quickly shoved the corpse out of the house and closed the door. Her back to the door, she slid down to the floor, covered in the spray of blood from the kill.

The next sound she heard was her mother hitting the floor from fainting.


	4. Come With Me If You Want To Live

Hitomi was jolted awake by the sound of something in her bedroom. The sound was already in her room, so she knew right away that she had slept through something. The sounds that met her frightened her too much to move. She shrunk down into her bed, hoping whatever was there would go away. It had to be some sort of animal, but how had it gotten in her room? She whimpered, trying not to think of what it was. She just couldn't stand if it was something scary like a pig or a cow.

The noise stopped suddenly. Hitomi peered into the dark, not daring to move or even breathe. Her eyes adjusted slowly, and soon she saw something standing there. It was a person. Someone was in her room. They moved again, drawing nearer to her bed. Their hands reached out for her, to grab her from her bed. Her thoughts of an animal intruder were gone, replaced with the fear ' _Am I about to be raped!?_ ' Somehow, that wasn't as bad as it being a farm animal, of which she was terrified. She could fight back if it was just Human.

Moving faster than she thought she could, she reached up and grabbed her pillow, swinging it over her head at the intruder. It hit the intruder in their face at full force and knocked them to the ground. Flinging her blanket aside, she jumped over her vanquished foe and bolted for the door. Before running out the door, she turned on the light and turned to see who had attempted such a heinous act against her.

"Really, dear? That was unnecessary." Her mother stood up and tossed the pillow back onto the bed. She yawned tiredly, which Hitomi recognized as the sound she had heard earlier. "Come on, get dressed. We need to go. Be quick about it."

Her mother headed back downstairs, leaving her to do as she was told. Hitomi wasn't sure what she was supposed to get dressed for, so she instinctively put on her school uniform. Grabbing her pillow in case this involved a lengthy car ride. She was still tired, and was somewhat used to sleeping on the way to some important thing her parents dragged her to. Often, she had even found a nice place to go to sleep at company parties, always waking up only a minute or two before the party ended.

Heading down to the foyer, she saw her mother standing alone. "Where's Dad?"

Her mother sighed. "He'll meet up with us when we get there."

"Where are we going?"

The woman's face was unreadable. "The military base. We'll be safe there."

Without knowing what they would need to be safe from, Hitomi had some doubts about that being the safest place to be. She couldn't argue with her mother, though. Best to just do as she was told. They headed to the garage, and Hitomi watched in awe as her mother opened the back area. It had always remained sealed, and she had never seen what it held. She knew there was a vehicle of some sort back there, but had always assumed it was some collectors item sports car. When the steel door slid up, it revealed a very different form.

Hitomi's mother stepped over to a man who had been standing next to the large vehicle. "Kaito, is everything ready?"

The butler gave a slight bow. "As you ordered, Ma'am. Enough fuel to make the full distance. Whenever you're ready."

Hitomi just stared at what had been hidden in her family's garage for as long as she could remember. "Mom?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Why do we have a tank?"

Rolling her eyes, the woman grumbled. "It's an Armored Personnel Carrier, Hitomi. They wouldn't let us have a tank." She headed towards the back, continuing to explain why they had a tank that wasn't a tank. "You're father's line of work required us to have some sort of armored transport in case things got bad."

Things were bad? Hitomi looked around the garage. It was quiet. "But... Dad's a doctor."

Putting her hand on her hip and tapping her foot on the floor impatiently, Hitomi's mother explained how that made sense. "Well, yes, he is, but he's a specific type of doctor. He's more of a medical sciences researcher. His team works at the base, and as you know is funded by my company. They have been working on a way to reanimate dead tissue. Bring people back to life. Unfortunately, and I might as well be straightforward about this, they succeeded only halfway. The serum they developed only brought the body back to life. It kind of... escalated from there."

Hitomi shook her head. "What... I don't know what you're saying. Mom? What's going on?"

Beckoning her child over to her, she lowered her voice. "Hitomi, listen closely. The dead have risen and are eating the living. Their bites, or even scratches, are fatal. They are also infectious, and will turn anyone they kill into another of them. Do you know what this means?"

Hitomi had gone pale. She shook her head.

"What it means is c _ome with me if you want to live_."


	5. Purple Heart

Homura Akemi sat in her bed. She couldn't sleep tonight. Every few seconds, a pain in her chest stole her breath. It was impossible to sleep this way, so she just sat in her bed and watched out her window, taking in the sight of Mitakihara. This city was her new home. The doctors had promised her that she would be well enough to go to school some time during the coming school year. It would be strange, transferring in so late, but it couldn't be avoided.

Looking out at the bright city under the dark sky was, all told, something that never really got old. It had been beautiful the first day, and it had remained beautiful. Leaning back, Homura thought about what it would be like to hear the city at night. She couldn't hear it now, as her window was closed because the night air would not be good for her. After another hit of pains, Homura sat back and closed her eyes. She had to sleep some time, and she was beginning to wonder when her body would get too tired to stay awake in spite of it all.

The door opened and the light came on. Homura opened her eyes to see the nurse who normally cared for her. The young woman saw that she was awake and desperately tried to hide the panic on her face. "Oh, you're awake. Okay, can you walk?"

Taking a few purposeful deep breaths, Homura nodded.

"Good. I'm going to bring you to another room. Come on."

Climbing out of bed and grabbing her glasses, Homura stumbled to the door and let the nurse hold her up and guide her to another room. It wasn't far, really, so she wondered what the point was. As the door was opened and she was ushered inside, she spotted several people down the hall being rushed into her room. There was blood on them. She didn't get to look for long, and was soon seated in a chair next to a small girl who clutched the intravenous feed attached to her arm.

Homura scanned the room, seeing a number of other patients huddled together. There was a boy sitting in a wheelchair on the other side of the small girl, and more beyond him. She noticed quickly that they were all patients who were either recovering from injury or had some physical ailment. One thing was for sure, none of them were contagious. She wondered, though, what would cause this many to be put together in one room. The nurse was gone, so there was no one she could ask.

The room filled up quickly, and then the door was closed. A few minutes passed by, and boredom spurred Homura on to try and say something to the girl beside her. She was beaten to it by the boy in the wheelchair.

"What do you think is going on?"

Realizing that he was actually talking to her, Homura struggled to come up with an answer. "When I was brought here, I saw them taking people into the room I was staying in. I think that means they just have a lot of new injuries coming in."

The boy glanced around the room. "There has to be twenty people in here. They can't possibly be that full up, can they?"

The small girl coughed. "I'm thirsty..."

Homura's mind snapped into focus at the sound of a shrill scream from the hall. Everyone in the room quieted, listening to hear what was happening. More screams followed, and Homura felt the girl moving closer to her for comfort. Looking up, every pair of eyes in the room watched the door. They heard the voices screaming and shouting on the other side.

"Hold him down!"

"Get something in here to sedate him!"

"Someone help!"

"Keep him do- AARGH!"

"Doctor Takashi!"

"No! No no no no! Get those patients back in that room!"

"I need help here!"

"This man is flatlining!"

"Doctor, I need you over here!"

And everything after that was drowned out by the screams. _Turned into screams._


	6. Shadows

Sayaka sat, staring dumbly at the television. It had suddenly gone blank for no reason at all. Sitting with her on the couch, her parents were equally dumbfounded. The television wasn't the only thing. The lights had gone out, along with everything else. It was total darkness. There was no reaction from any of them except for silent confusion for a minute or two, which seemed like hours to Sayaka.

Finally, the blue-haired girl groaned, splitting the silence in the apartment. "Worst timing ever! I don't even get to find out who won!"

Reaching over to pat her on the shoulder, but missing and ending up patting her on the head, Sayaka's mother tried to comfort her. "We can finish it tomorrow."

Sayaka wasn't so sure. "Tomorrow is a school night, and what's even the point of watching a late night horror movie if it's going to get interrupted?"

"Well, too late to do anything about it, so you might as well head off to bed." Sayaka's father hauled her off the couch and directed her toward her room. "Off you go."

Sayaka promptly tripped over something, not that she could identify what, and fell on her face. Getting up was painful, and her parents didn't seem to mind that she'd fallen at all. Going the rest of the way to her door with a lot more care, she eventually made her way into her room and... sat down in her bed with her laptop. The internet would be down, but she'd still be able to do something. Most girls would put earphones in and start listening to some new pop hits. Sayaka put noise-cancelling headphones on and started listening to classical music.

She never heard the frantic knocking on the apartment door from the hallway. She didn't notice when it suddenly stopped either. She didn't notice when her father answered the door a moment later. She didn't notice when he was pulled into the hall. She didn't hear her mother screaming as the apartment was intruded. She didn't hear when the screaming stopped. The cannons in Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture saw to that.

Between tracks, Sayaka would always pause the playlist to decide what song to listen to next. She didn't feel like any one piece in particular, so she selected one that had been suggested to her by someone online. It was the last time she listened to the 1812 Overture, someone suggested another piece that reportedly had cannons firing. She figured she had nothing to lose, so she downloaded it. It only took a moment, but she stopped the song and sat staring at the mp3 file once she realized what was different.

Sayaka sighed, leaning back. "I've never even heard of AC DC before, so they can't be that good."

Her thoughts were disrupted by the sudden sound of someone banging against her door. Taking off her headphones, she slid out of bed and moved to the door. She was about to open it when she realized that, whoever it was, they weren't letting up. Whichever of her parents it was, this wasn't cool.

"Hey! Bug off! Go get your own room!" The banging stopped, and she briefly wondered if, somehow, it had actually been a different kind of banging. Her response worked either way.

Then another noise took the place of the pounding sound against the door. This one was a low, primal growl. Fingernails, or maybe claws, raked across the other side of the door. Her imagination went wild trying to figure out what might be on the other side of the door. She sure wasn't about to check for herself, so she let her imagination do the deducing.

Backing away from the door, she tried to talk to whoever, or whatever, was on the other side. "Dad, is that you?" More growling was the only response. "...Satan?" Again, more growling. "If you don't tell me who you are, I'm going to have to assume you're Satan and then act accordingly." Again, no response but growling. She took a deep breath. "Okay, so Satan is in my apartment. What do you do, Sayaka? Satan... wants in my room."

"Hello. Can you let me in?"

Turning to the door in shock and horror, Sayaka couldn't believe her ears. "You... you talked!" It certainly wasn't her father's voice. "So, uh... are you Satan?"

"Some people have referred to me by that name. I never understood it. Everything I do is for the greater good."

Sayaka swallowed hard. "So... what do you want from me."

"If you'll open your window and let me in, I'll gladly explain it to you."

Turning suddenly, Sayaka gaped when she saw a small white creature sitting just outside her window. She bolted over and opened the window, letting what turned out to be a fluffy little critter prance into her room. She watched the creature, utterly bemused. "You, uh... aren't the same thing as the thing outside my door, are you?"

It jumped onto her bed, settling down on top of the warm laptop. Sayaka grimaced. That's why she hadn't gotten a cat. It's very cat-like smile was getting to her too. It took it's own sweet time, but eventually answered her question. "Not really, though you could say it's part of why I'm here."

"Okay." That sounded like it could be good. "So what are you and who do you want? I mean, uh, who are you and what do you want?"

To her luck, it readily answered all four questions. "I am Kyubey. You would refer to me as an alien. My job is to make contracts with girls, incidentally around your age, so they can become Magical Girls and fight evil. Normally, you'd be fighting witches, but I think you may have more pressing matters at hand for now. So what I want is to make contracts. Who I want is you."

"And what's outside my door?"

Kyubey glanced at the door. "I... can't particularly say for sure. What I do know is that, recently, something has changed in the format of the Human body. They should only be able to hold Human souls once, and then are expended when the soul leaves the body. The reformatting is a sort of virus, and when spread to another body it quickly ejects the presiding soul and makes the body open for takeover by another soul. The souls taking over are polluted and corrupted, and are driven to spread the virus. But the thing outside your door is something different. When the soul leaves the body, most go to a sort of... I guess you could say it's an afterlife. This place, though, causes the pollution and corruption of the soul. When they come back, they are pure evil. The thing on the other side of that door is also from that place, but it is not a Human soul. It has resided in that evil place far longer than Humans have been around."

"..." Sayaka was silent, mulling over everything Kyubey had said. "So... it is Satan?"

Kyubey shook his head. "No. It's the same as all the other ones, Human bodies returned to life and possessed by evil ruined souls. It just isn't a Human, and never has been."


	7. Fear Of The Dark

Oriko pulled her blanket closer around her. There was screaming coming from outside. Something horrible was happening, and she didn't want to know what. People were being hurt, maybe dying. She didn't want to be one of them. Whatever it was, she didn't want it to find her. She was alone in the world now, and it had begun to close in on her in the most horrifying way imaginable. Shuddering in despair and fear, she began to cry. She needed someone to save her, but there was no one left.

After several minutes, what felt like hours, the screams stopped. What was left was a suffocating silence. After waiting and listening for a length of time she couldn't measure, Oriko struggled to her feet and went to the door of the dark room. She put her ear to the door to hear anything. There was nothing, and there continued to be nothing for a long time. She slowly went to open the door, but froze when she heard another sound.

It wasn't a scream, this time. It was a screech. An evil-sounding screech moving past the door, like someone was running while making the ungodly sound. Except that no one was running. There were no footfalls. Maybe... she was just hearing things. Maybe she had mistaken something else for a voice, but what?

Pushing the door open, she peered into the lit hall. There was a low creak as something moved across the floor. Whatever it was, she couldn't see it, so she stepped out into the hall. There was someone standing down at the end. It wasn't anyone she knew, but they were in her home. Quietly pulling the blanket from her shoulders, she approached the stranger. They were standing awkwardly, their back to her, and staring into the wall. It didn't matter who they were. They were a house invader.

Suddenly, the intruder snapped to attention and turned to her. Their face was bloodied and red, half their jaw missing, and their flesh looked gray and dead, rotting even. She froze, just two feet away from them. The dead thing snarled at her and pounced, knocking her onto her back. It came down on top of her, jaws snapping at her neck. It met the blanket instead. Realizing she had some sort of protection, Oriko wrapped the blanket around the fiend's head, then scrambled back away from it.

She wasn't entirely sure what the thing's intentions were, but they definitely were not good. Raising her hand and balling it into a fist, she brought it down on the creature's head. She had long since determined that it did not count as a Human anymore. Beating on it's head brought expected results. With her strength, the expected results were nothing of consequence. She tried to wrestle the thing off of her and get out of it's grip, only to find it's fingers wrapped around her arm. As if she was given a miracle, the sleeve of her shirt tore off. The thing was left with her sleeve, and she was let to struggle to her feet and run.

Reaching the end of the hall, she turned and headed out towards the back. If nothing else, she knew her way around the gardens and they were always lit. She skidded to a halt when the back door came in view. It had been broken down, smashed into splinters. The hall lights began to flicker as she drew near. She heard a scratching sound coming from just outside. Fearing more and more that there might be another infected body laying in wait, her pace slowed down.

The lights went out entirely, and only the faint glow from the garden lights coming through the broken doorway remained. Crawling through the door, bony and bloody hands pulled this new thing into sight. She was suddenly glad there was so little light. It was like the other one, except that it's body had been torn in two. Stringy bits of flesh trailed behind it, leaving a grizzly line of red. That's why she was glad for the low light.

Crawling up to her and reaching out for her leg, the thing growled at her. She backpedaled and bumped into something. Turning to see what she had collided with, she saw the face of the first one. Backing herself into the wall, Oriko slid down to the floor. There was no escape. Their hands reached out for her, grabbing at whatever part they could find. As they moved their mouths in to feed, she closed her eyes. She had been through so much emotional pain. Now it was time for the physical pain.

The pain never got to her, interrupted on delivery by the sound of an axe splitting the air. Both of the attackers fell limply to the floor.

"Oh, it's you. I thought I smelled cowardice."

Oriko buried her head in her hands. Things hadn't exactly gotten better.


	8. Brain Stew

Kirika stood at the edge of her family's property. Someone was screaming in the distance. There were no other sounds. Figuring out the problem, she pinched her nose with her fingers and forced the air out through her ears, clearing them up a bit. Suddenly, everything was easier to hear. There were more screams, more distant or quieter, as well as a low moaning from much closer.

The door opened behind her and her mother stepped out. "Kirika, it's really late. Get back to bed." She stopped. "What's going on?"

It was dark, and it seemed the streetlights had gone out. Kirika realized that her mother could not see what she was wearing. Not that it mattered. She would find out sooner or later either way. Hearing her mother moving out towards her, Kirika held out her hand behind her. Her mother stopped, but Kirika could tell she expected something of an answer.

"Kirika… you should head back to bed."

Kirika shook her head, though she wasn't sure if her mother could see it. "We need to get out of here. It's not safe."

"What?" She sighed. "What's not safe, Kirika?"

Turning around, Kirika waited for her mother to react in shock at the sight of her daughter wearing the clothes of a Magical Girl. There was no shocked response, just the stare of someone who was slowly coming to figure out something. Kirika grimaced. It didn't look like the answer was going to reach her mother without some outside influence.

"Mom, I'm a Magical Girl."

Her mother nodded. "I can see that."

Kirika blinked in surprise. "Wha… that's it? That's all? You're not shocked? Even a little bit?"

The woman smiled wanly. "Kirika, I've known about Magical Girls since I was a little girl. My best friend became one. More than that, I know you. I saw you acting just exactly the way that attracts that little contractor's interest. The sudden change tipped me off. Seeing you like this just confirms it."

"Mom…" Shaking her head, Kirika looked up and down the street. There were people wandering towards their house. "We don't have time. Something bad is happening, and I… there's someone I have to check on to make sure they're safe."

"Oh?" Kirika made a face as her mother sidled up to her. "A boyfriend, perhaps?"

Grumbling, the black Magical Girl checked over her shoulder at the approaching people. There were more. "It's not like that. It's just... someone I care a lot about. I have to make sure she's not in danger."

A few moments of silence passed between them. The streetlights came back on, and Kirika saw a hellishly mutilated man standing behind her mother, hands outstretched in soulless desire. Without thinking, she struck out to defend her mother. Red claws materialized from her hands, whizzing past her mother's ear and impaling the man through his neck. He dangled there for a while, then continued as if nothing had happened.

"Mom, get back in the house!"

Not stopping to question her commanding tone, the elder of the two rushed away to safety. Kirika brought her hand up, tearing the man's head from his shoulders. The head landed a few meters away, splattering on the pavement. Kirika watched in disgust as two more horribly wretched bodies of the obviously living dead waddled closer to her. She rushed the first, ramming it with her shoulder while simultaneously driving her claws through its stomach. The body groaned, but not in pain. It lurched forward, sinking its teeth into her neck. Pulling away, and ripping out its side on the way, she put her hand to her neck. Feeling no damage, she looked up to see the walking corpse with a torn piece of her collar in its mouth.

The ruined body fell to its side, but quickly made to pull itself towards her with its hands. Without hesitation, she brought her claws down on its head. It stopped moving. She paused for just a moment, thinking out loud. "The head... the brain!"

Turning to the next one, she speared it through the eye. It immediately went limp, and slumped to the ground when she pulled her weapon free. It _was_ the brain. She didn't have time to rest, as another one came into view the next second. She turned and ran back to her house. She knew their weakness, how to kill them, and how they moved. With that knowledge alone, she could protect her parents on the move.

Opening the door and running inside, she stopped at the dark main room. "Mom? We need to get moving! Get Dad up and let's go!"

Her mother appeared in the doorway, slamming her hand on the light noisily to turn it on. Kirika's eyes went wide at the sight of her. Her clothes were stained in blood, and she clutched a knife in her hand. She was bracing herself in the doorway to keep herself from falling, panting and out of breath. "Don't... there was someone in the kitchen. Your father... they attacked me... and he protected me... don't go in the kitchen."

Lowering her gaze, Kirika knew what had happened. She knew what this was. "So... it _is_ zombies."


	9. Resist And Bite

"Kazumi! Get up!"

Bolting upright, Kazumi saw her friend Kaoru Maki standing over her. Kaoru didn't waste any time, grabbing Kazumi and pulling her out of bed. Dragged headlong through their home, Kazumi was totally confused as to what could possibly have happened. They had made it almost to the door when she finally regained enough sense to pull away from her friend. Kaoru skidded to a halt, turning to grab Kazumi's arm again.

Kazumi pulled back. "Wait! What's going on? Where is Umika?"

Kaoru grabbed at her again. "We don't have time! We need to go! Now!"

The sound of thunder came from outside, alerting Kazumi. "Ah! The others are here!" She rushed around Kaoru and shoved her way through the door. Sure enough, the others were just outside. Saki and Niko were fighting something that was out of Kazumi's sight, and Satomi sat on the ground close to the door clutching at a nasty wound on her neck. It took a moment for it to sink in. "Where's Mirai? Satomi, are you alright?"

Jumping back, Niko turned to Kazumi. "Mirai is with Umika, and Satomi will be fine for now." The others all paused, returning to what they were doing a moment later. It was a strange reaction, to say the least.

Satomi took a deep breath, then looked up at Kazumi from where she sat. "Don't worry about me. She's right. I'll be alright for now."

A man jumped into the light surrounding the house, running at Niko. She effortlessly stepped around him and struck him with her weapon. He fell to the ground, and she brought the crowbar down on his head. Kazumi gasped in shock at the violent display that crushed the man's head. She looked to Saki to see what she was going to do about it. Surely she wouldn't let something like this go unmentioned. Instead, to Kazumi's surprise, Saki stepped back from the edge of the dark night, striking at another man who simply stumbled toward her. A bolt of lightning fried what appeared to be a normal human being.

The sight was so unimaginable, so foreign to her, that she felt herself coming to tears. "What are you doing? Why are you killing them?"

Saki looked behind her, shock showing on her face. Another man leapt from the darkness, tackling her to the ground and chomping down on her shoulder. She shoved him off, only to have him bite her wrist. Running to her friend to help her, Kazumi found herself held back but Satomi. Kaoru ran past her and delivered a hefty kick to the man's head, separating it from his body. Several more charged in after her, grabbing Kaoru and dragging her down to the ground. She threw them off of her without too much effort, rising to her feet as quickly as she'd gone down and helping Saki up. They retreated to the house.

Trying to stop the blood flow from her shoulder, Saki nodded to Kazumi. "I'm sorry. There's nothing else we can do. They're not Human anymore." She looked upwards, and when Kazumi went to follow her gaze, Saki concluded her thoughts. "You three should head up to the roof. We'll hold them off the best we can."

Nodding, Niko jumped up and out of sight. Kaoru patted herself down for a moment, checking for any injuries, then wrapped her arms around Kazumi and jumped up to the roof. Niko was waiting for them, taking Kazumi and pulling her onto the roof. Kaoru turned and looked down at the girls still on the ground.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?"

Saki winced in pain, but managed to answer calmly enough. "We know what to do."

Kazumi watched the two wounded girls as they headed back into the house. "What are they going to do?"

Seeing that Kaoru couldn't find the words to answer, Niko spoke instead. "They're going to join Umika and Mirai."


	10. Disposable Heroes

Arisa ran through the dark streets of Hoozuki. She was well aware of the perilous state of the night and what was happening. Zombies were everywhere, around every corner, and even occasionally falling from the tops of tall buildings. She wasn't sure what had caused that to happen, but at least that was one less zombie to worry about. It still hurt, though, seeing people changed this way. She had even seen one or two students from her school. She understood that it was horrible.

She ran through the undead, shuffling around in groups, hacking off a piece here and there with her scythe. It was messy, but she might as well make use of herself on the way. The others had told her they were meeting, and she was headed to the location Chisato had given her. Of the four girls, she lived the farthest away, but she wouldn't arrive much later.

Approaching the park, she slowed down. She walked more carefully and quietly as she approached the fountain. This wasn't where they were meeting, but something had caught her eye. Sitting on the edge of the fountain, another Magical Girl watched her cautiously. It was Suzune. She was facing a different direction, looking over her shoulder at the pink-haired Magical Girl.

They had only just met, and she was only just now realizing Suzune was a Magical Girl, but at this point Arisa was going to be concerned for everyone. "We're meeting up. You should come too."

Suzune grimaced, looking away. "It's not worth the time. Get out of the city while you still can."

Arisa rolled her eyes. "We have to at least meet up first."

"No, you need to get out. It's dangerous in the city. More dangerous than you know."

"But the others-"

"The others knew." Suzune looked back to her finally. She reached down and picked something up off the ground. Holding it up for Arisa to see, she explained. "It would be wise for you to realize that we are not immune to this infection. Don't make the same mistake your friends did."

Arisa's eyes went wide. The object Suzune was holding was the severed head of Matsuri Hinata. "You... you killed her!"

Suzune stood up, turning to face Arisa. She uncharacteristically raised her voice. "I watched her die! I only destroyed the dead body after it got up and attacked me!" Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself. "She was on her way to that meeting, and she had already been bitten. I have not seen the other two, so if you must insist on meeting then there is still a chance of finding them alive. However, I strongly suggest you leave this city as soon as you can. A zombie is dangerous, and a Magical Girl zombie is far more dangerous, but there are far worse things you may have to face."

It took Arisa some time to grasp what had happened. Matsuri was already dead, and Suzune just defended herself... Arisa gasped. "You're hurt!"

Suzune looked down at her own arm, the one not holding a head. "Like I said... a Magical Girl zombie is even more dangerous." Sighing, she dropped the head and drew her sword. "But don't worry. I'll save you the trouble of having to deal with another one."

"What are you...?"

Suzune angled the sword towards herself, pointing the blade up into her neck. Their eyes met for a moment. Suzune closed her eyes and gave Arisa her parting words. "Protect every person you find. Save as many as possible. Go find your friends."

Before Arisa's eyes, Suzune drove her own sword up into her head, the tip breaking out through the top. She fell to her side, unmoving.

Arisa stood alone in the park, now feeling like she was alone in the world. She had to find Haruka and Chisato. She still had friends to save.


	11. In A Darkened Room

Mami ran ahead of the crowd that were chasing her. Whatever had happened to these people, they wouldn't stop until she killed them. She could fight that battle forever, but only physically. She was not prepared emotionally or mentally to kill people, even if they were already dead. After only the first few, she was unable to kill any more. So she ran. She ran toward the closest building, a tall apartment complex.

Stopping at the glass front door, she looked in. The lights were on and she could see a man at the desk in the lobby. He was casually reading a newspaper, flipping the pages like a normal uninfected Human. Mami grimaced. She couldn't risk opening the door. In fact, she had to lead the crowd away from the door.

Turning, she sprinted off around the building. Leaping up and out of reach from the hungry horde, she landed on a balcony. She didn't want to break into someone's apartment, so she tapped on the glass door to see if anyone was home. To her utmost surprise, Kyubey appeared on the other side of the glass, smiling up at her. Using his telepathy, the small alien was able to communicate through the glass.

"There's a girl in here who needs your help, Mami. No time to lose."

Something in the dark apartment moved, catching Mami's attention. It definitely wasn't a girl. It was stumbling about in no way a girl would ever allow herself to be seen emulating. It approached the door, placing its hand against the glass and leaving a bloody smear. It was a man, just like the others down on the ground. He had died and returned to some sort of perversion of life. It pounded on the glass, opening its mouth and groaning at her. Kyubey just sat there.

Taking a step back and making a face of disgust, Mami prepared a gun and aimed it at the man's head. She fired, shattering the glass and sending the man reeling back into the apartment. Immediately, a woman charged out of the dark at her. With another gun, she blasted the top of the woman's head. Stepping inside the dark and trashed apartment, Mami saw the door leading out into the hallway was hanging open. They were in the building, but for some reason not on the main floor. The sound of moans alerted her that there were more.

Leaping out of the darkness, another undead fell right into a web of yellow ribbons that left it hanging in the air. Mami wanted to limit how much damage she caused, so she left it. Two more clamored through a doorway from what she guessed was a bedroom, and a third rose out of the shadows behind her. Conjuring up two more guns, she aimed them ahead and fired, blasting apart both heads. Quickly, she spun and dropped one gun, whacking the other one into the third undead's jaw.

Wrapping the still-writhing creature in more ribbons, she turned and headed off for the bedroom. Looking in, she saw the room was empty aside from two things. A large bed that looked appropriate for a married couple, and some hulking thing that could not possibly be Human. Mami gasped at the sight of whatever it was. She raised her gun, preparing for whatever sort of fight she might be forced into. The... _thing_ roared, grabbing the bed and hurling it at her. The bed crashed into her, stopping at the doorway, but sending her flying into the main room and crashing through a glass table. The gun fell to the ground on the other side of the room.

Heavy footsteps told her that it was approaching. It broke the bed in half, shoving it out of the way, then shattered the door frame to get through. It didn't have to break the door frame, really. It just wanted to. Stomping over to Mami, it looked down at her with burning eyes, seeming to laugh at her. Bending over, it reached down to grab her, but stopped and looked up at the sound of another voice.

Sayaka stood, one foot up on the arm of her family's couch, shouldering Mami's gun and aiming it at the beast's head. She took a moment to comment on the creature in front of her. "You are one ugly motherfu-"

It roared at the blunette, interrupting her. She fired off the gun, blasting its face apart and knocking it onto its back. There was a moment of silence in the apartment. Sayaka stepped over to the beast, pausing as it shuddered and twitched. She aimed the gun down at its head. Its chest rose and fell, telling her it was still alive. She pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened. Sayaka pulled the trigger again. She gave the gun an incredulous look. "The heck? Why won't it..." Faceless, but still alive, the monster started rising off the floor. Sayaka backed up. "Uh... oh crap. He's pissed."

Mami appeared beside her with a fresh gun, firing it into the beast's chest. Sayaka coughed on the resultant cloud of sulfurous smoke. She opened her eyes to see the creature dead and still. She looked over to Mami, handing her back the gun.

Mami accepted the gun and sighed. "They're expendable. They don't really fire more than one shot."

Sayaka turned red. "Okay. I guess, uh... thanks for the rescue."

Mami nodded, offhandedly tossing the expended guns onto the couch. "Same to you, then." Her eyes landed on Kyubey. "So then... do you mind telling me what that was?"

Kyubey smiled.


	12. Bonded By Blood

Momo peered out the window. There were strangers all around their house, pounding on the doors and shoving at the walls. It was as if they had lost all semblance of sanity. Everything she could see was madness. Closing the curtain, she turned back to her mother and sister.

"The police will come soon enough, right?"

Kyoko shrugged. "Sure... if we called them." Momo went for the phone, only to have Kyoko stop her. "I already tried it. Phones are down. Can you get me some disinfectant? My arm is stinging."

Jumping up, Momo headed for the kitchen and retrieved the first aid kit, hauling it back. "Is Kyoko gonna be okay? Momo can help..."

Kyoko stopped her. "I..."

Momo took a deep breath. "I... can help."

"Better." Kyoko opened the first aid kit, shaking her head. "And no, you can't. Don't worry. This'll heal up soon enough. I'll pump some magic into it and clean out any infection, too. Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Surprising her older sister, Momo closed the first aid kit. "Show Kyoko's arm to Momo."

Reluctantly, Kyoko obeyed. She really only wanted to get it over with so she could get back to doing it herself. Momo held out her hands, holding them over the scratches on Kyoko's arm. There was a bright glow under her hands, and Kyoko felt a warm tingling sensation. She gave Momo a quizzical look. When she was done, the younger sister stepped back. The two of them looked at the skin on Kyoko's arm. It was perfectly healed up.

Momo took a deep breath. "Kyoko should be fine now."

"Momo... are you...?"

The younger sister smiled. "Momo is Kyoko's sister, so Momo will act like it."

Kyoko was silent for a moment, then slowly cracked a smile. "Then you'd better stop referring to me like I'm not here."

"What's going on?" The girls looked to the doorway to see their father standing, looking between them in shock. "Momo, what are you doing up at this hour?"

Kyoko got up, walking to her father. Momo stepped in front of her, addressing their father first. "Daddy, there are people outside. They're trying to break in!"

He looked at Kyoko. "Is this your doing as well?"

Kyoko fell back, shocked at the accusation. "Wha- no! They're not even people! They're monsters that are trying to get in and eat us!"

Turning his back on her, he walked out of the room and headed for the front door. "If they are as you say, then there is only one way to be rid of them." Running after him, but unable to stop him, the girls watched as he opened the door. Standing right in front of him was a deranged, rotted Human body, already moving towards him in the hopes of something to chew on. At first a little shocked by what he was faced with, his shock quickly turned to determination. He held his hand out at it. "In the name of God, be gone!"

A low growl came from it, but it did not stop. Kyoko saw it reaching for her father's arm. She went to grab her spear, only to realize she had left it in the other room. Before she could move to shove him out of the way or otherwise protect him, the door slammed in the undead monster's face. Kyoko and her father stood and stared in surprise. Momo stood with her back to the door.

Panting, the young girl smiled up at them. "That's why God gave us doors, Daddy. To help keep the evil outside." Neither responded. There was silence between them for a long time. Finally, Momo spoke again. "We should all stay together in the living room. Mommy fainted, so we need to keep her company. Kyoko can protect us."

Even as they returned to the living room, the two would not look at each other. Momo wasn't blind, and she wasn't stupid. She had no intention of falling asleep while her family was in such a dire situation. Her father fell asleep in his chair, his face becoming more peaceful than she had seen it in days. Kyoko fell asleep too, laying down on a windowsill. Momo watched her sister carefully, hoping and praying she would be alright, and holding her breath every time Kyoko's arm twitched on its own.

The illusion magic wouldn't last forever.


	13. Mad World

Junko woke up the instant her blanket was pulled off of her. It was still dark, so there was no justification for it, and that gave her cause to be mad about it. She shot up out of bed, already prepared to give someone a real scolding. Her hangover pulled her back to the bed. Most of her energy that would have been used for being angry was gone.

"Ugh... What the hell is going on? Why'd you wake me so early?"

Madoka helped her mother up. "There's a car in our living room."

"Wha...?"

"Someone drove a car through our front window."

Junko groaned. "Well, that sucks. Why'd they do that?"

The two of them stopped out in the hallway. Tomohisa came out of Tatsuya's room, carrying the toddler in his arms. He beckoned Madoka to follow him, heading down the stairs and out to the back door. He slid the glass door closed behind them.

Madoka looked around, confused. "Why are we back here?"

Tomohisa handed his son to Madoka. "Stay here and stay quiet. I need to check that it's safe."

As he left, Junko looked over at her daughter. "What's safe? Are there other cars...?"

Tomohisa let Madoka answer for him. He pushed his way through the garden he had set up in the backyard until he reached the wall. Pulling himself up, he looked over the wall. It was dark, but not so dark he couldn't tell something was wrong. There was a noise that shouldn't have been. Something creaking, and clacking together like teeth chattering, and a gurgling sound. It all sounded wrong, like some sickly horror movie had come to life in front of him.

It looked worse than it sounded. The neighbors' lights were on, and there was blood smeared all over the window in hand-print shapes. The streetlights beyond that were flickering, but when the light was there he could see drunken-looking people stumbling about in large numbers, and they were moaning in a mindless unison. He looked up a bit to see what it was like further on. Just as he raised his gaze, a bright orange plume appeared in the distance. He gasped and quickly got down from the garden wall. The world had gone mad.

Hurrying back to his family, he knelt down and put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Are you able to walk fast?"

Junko scrunched her face up painfully. "I'd fall over if I tried."

This was bad. Someone needed to carry Tatsuya so he could go ahead and check things out to make sure it was safe, and Madoka wasn't strong enough to do that without slowing down too much. Junko needed someone to help her along, so moving fast was right out. And Madoka... If he wanted to get them out of here, he had to leave someone behind. But not just one. He would have to leave two. Leaving only one behind would sign multiple death warrants.

If he and Madoka went, he could rely on her more than the other two right now, but that would be leaving the other two helpless. He could drag his hungover wife around, but that would not only place him at the most risk, and therefore her, and therefore their children, but it would also leave Madoka with the impossible responsibility of keeping her little brother safe. Or he could carry his son with him, putting them both in a lot of danger, but at least Madoka and Drunko could figure something out between them.

His final option was to sit here with them and wait. While it meant he could protect them all best, it also made them all vulnerable to anything coming their way. Nothing seemed like the right choice...

"Madoka, help your mother up." Madoka obeyed quickly, as Tomohisa scooped up his son again. "We're going into the cellar and we're going to try and hold out for as long as we can."

Madoka looked worried. "Why? What's going on?"

"A lot of things are going on. We need to get somewhere safe as soon as possible."

As they headed back into the house and made their way down to the cellar, Tomohisa heard a loud voice behind him, coming from the streets several blocks over.

" _A state of emergency has been declared for the greater Mitakihara metropolitan area. Please go inside your homes and lock your doors until this is resolved. Do not go outside. I repeat, a state of emergency has been declared for the greater Mitakihara metropolitan area. Please stay inside your homes and lock the doors until it is resolved. Do not go outside._ "


	14. Down With The Sickness

Mako dialed her phone again. "Come on... come on, come on, come on! Shit!" The woman through her phone at the wall in frustration, shattering it. She popped a cigarette in her mouth, glaring around the room as she lit it. She put her lighter back in her pocket and took the cigarette out for a moment. "Where is that kid? Yuma!"

Peering out from her bedroom, a small girl with green hair replied shakily. "M-Mommy?"

The woman growled at her scared daughter, putting the cigarette back in her mouth. "If you're not ready to go, I'm leaving you here. We have to get out of the house."

Yuma stepped out of her room all the way, still dressed in her pajamas. "I'm ready to go."

Mako could see that this very much wasn't true. She also didn't care.

A voice came blaring into their apartment through the open window. " _A state of emergency has been declared for the greater Mitakihara metropolitan area. Please go inside your homes and lock your doors until this is resolved. Do not go outside. I repeat, a state of emergency has been declared for the greater Mitakihara metropolitan area. Please stay inside your homes and lock the doors until it is resolved. Do not go outside._ "

Yuma couldn't quite understand what all the message was saying, but she knew what 'do not go outside' meant. "Why are they telling us to not go outside."

It didn't feel to Mako like she had to answer that question. It's not like Yuma would understand the answer anyway. "Come on, we're going."

The little girl followed her mother all the way down to the entrance of the building. There was someone else wandering around the lobby, but they were ignored. The walked out the door and continued on down the sidewalk. Mako seemed to care very little for all the people they passed, regardless of how strangely they were all acting. All the people wandering around the way they were was frightening to Yuma. Mako knew there was something bad happening, but she had naturally assumed that all the people were out and about to get away from it.

She stopped at the corner, finally getting the feeling that she had been mistaken. Thoughts of heading for the shelter left her mind as another thought invaded. "They should still be giving out that announcement. I should be able to hear it somewhere."

"Mommy..."

Mako put her hands in her pockets. "Shut up, I'm thinking." She looked around. The crowd of people seemed to be getting thicker. "The hell is going on?"

"Mommy, why are they looking at us like that?"

She gave an exasperated sigh. "Damn it, Yuma. I told you to shut up." She couldn't think with that child blabbering all the time. She took the cigarette out of her mouth for a moment and gave another look around her. Then she saw it. Sitting only a few meters away on the sidewalk, a black and white jeep with a loudspeaker system on top sat on its side. The driver, covered in blood, was visibly crushed in half under the vehicle. The cigarette fell from her mouth.

"Mommy!"

Mako turned at the abrupt scream to see Yuma running towards her and hugging her in fright. This simply didn't happen. She looked to see what could possibly have caused such an unusual event, only to see the snarling face of her neighbor in front of her. His nose was missing. Her eyes darted around and she realized that everyone was wounded in some horrendous way. They all shambled mindlessly towards her and her daughter. Yuma clung tighter to her, making it hard for her to run unless...

She grabbed Yuma's hand and pulled her off, then ran for the overturned jeep. With the horde just two seconds behind her, she ran around behind the jeep. It was the only route left even remotely clear. Running full-throttle down the sidewalk was normally easy for her, but it was harder tonight. She was slower than usual. As she ran, she found solace in the fact that at least Yuma had stopped talking.

Yuma was breathless, tired, scared, and also a bit hungry, but that all seemed to disappear. She couldn't stop now, even if she wanted to, with her mother's hand clamped around her wrist.


	15. The Thing That Should Not Be

"Stop the tank! Stop the tank!"

The APC stopped, and Hitomi's mother glared back at her. "It's an Armored Personnel Carrier."

Ignoring her, Hitomi ducked back inside. "There are people out there! A little girl!" Poking her head back out the top, she started calling to the nearby people. "Hey! Over here!" She climbed out against her mother's protests. "Come on!"

Kaito, in the gun turret, ducked down and reassured the woman. "They're not infected. We're safe so long as we get moving again as soon as they're in."

On top of the vehicle, Hitomi reached down her hand to help up the woman and the child with her. She was hit with a sense of urgency when she saw the shambling masses behind the two. "What in the... Hurry up!"

Mako pulled Yuma forward, lifting her up and handing her to Hitomi quickly, then pulling herself up onto the top of the APC. Hitomi jumped back down through the hatch, caught Yuma and moved out of the way for Mako. The APC started moving before Mako was even in, causing her to lose balance and fall through the hatch. She landed on her back and, after a moment of shock, coughed painfully.

Hitomi set Yuma down and reached up to pull the hatch closed. She looked over the two they had just saved. Her heart was racing almost as fast as her mind. What really just happened? Did she really just save this woman and her little girl?

Mako sat up, moving herself to the padded seats. She groaned loudly, rubbing her head. "What the hell was that? What's wrong with those people?"

Hitomi sat down, watching as the little girl obediently sat down beside her mother. She shook it off. "My mom says they're infected. I don't know what that means exactly, but she says they're dead. They're the dead coming back to kill the living."

Mako ran her fingers through her hair. "Shit... and it's just the five of us?" She leaned forward, looking past Kaito at Hitomi's mother, who was driving the vehicle.

Hitomi nodded. "Yes, I-" She was cut off by the entire APC going over several large bumps.

Her mother called back. "Sorry about that. A few of them got in the way. Hitomi, dear, get back up and keep an eye out for more survivors."

As Hitomi went to obey her mother's orders, Mako started looking around the back of the APC. Finding what she was after, she opened up the hatch beside the one Hitomi was looking out of and stood up out of it, leveling the assault rifle out towards the night. Hitomi gawked at the gun.

Mako shrugged, nodding towards the turret. "There's a bigger one right there."

Hitomi shook her head. "No, I know, but I didn't realize that was in there. You know how to use that?"

Mako looked over it. "Hmm... can't be too hard."

The teen grabbed it from her. "It's best if someone who knows how to use that has it."

"Are you kidding? You're just a kid. Don't tell me you know..."

"I do. My parents made sure I knew how to defend myself properly."

Mako relinquished the gun. "Fine." She rolled her eyes. "Rich people with their privileges."

The APC stopped, and Kaito appeared in the turret again. "There's someone ahead of us. I believe it to be your teacher Miss Saotome."

Hitomi quickly handed the gun back to Mako. She turned and climbed out onto the top of the APC, calling out to the person ahead. "Hello! Who's there?"

Sure enough, Miss Saotome called back. "Oh, thank god! Someone else is alive! What's going on?" She stopped when she saw Hitomi. "Miss Shizuki?"

Hitomi held her hand out. "Come on, we need to go. We're heading to the military base." The teacher took her hand and climbed aboard, joining the group.

Inside, Hitomi took a moment to introduce herself. "I'm Hitomi Shizuki."

The teacher looked over the woman and little girl beside her inside the APC. "Uhm... and I'm Kazuko Saotome. What's your name?"

Mako was busy sifting through her pockets for something. She looked up, distracted. "Huh? Oh, Chitose. I'm Mako, and this is my daughter Yuma."

Kaito called down. "A lot of them ahead! Get ready!"

Hitomi jumped up, grabbing the gun from Mako's lap. "I need this now." Climbing half out the hatch, Hitomi saw the crowd of shambling undead in front of the APC. They were headed straight for them, and there was nowhere to turn. Kaito was in the turret just ahead of her, so she called to him. "Can we just drive right through?"

He shook his head. "No way! The crowd's too thick! We need to thin them out first!"

"How much?"

"A lot!"

The turret started firing, shaking the entire vehicle and deafening everyone inside. Taking a few moments to recover, Hitomi aimed the rifle and fired. In the headlights from the APC she could see red splatters flying through the air, mists of blood sent flying in amongst the crowd. The frontrunners fell, and those behind them scrambled over their fallen bodies, only to fall a moment later. More bodies fell to the ground, and Hitomi stopped firing. She saw a taller person in the middle of the crowd. They stood up to their full height, and she froze.

Horns.

A monster stood in the center of the horde, horns affixed to its head. It roared over the sound of gunfire. Its glowing eyes fixed on her. She could see a sickly green light coming from somewhere below, rising up. Holding its hand up, she could see the green light was a flame held in its hand. Snapping back into action, she fired several rounds at the beast, tearing through its chest and shoulder. It inspected the damage for a second, then glared back at her. Then it stepped forward, flinging the flame at her.

Hitomi closed her eyes, expecting to feel her body burning in the next second. A scream later, she opened her eyes to find herself still alive. Green smoke was billowing out the turret hatch where Kaito had been. Mako suddenly pushed her way out through the hatch, taking hold of the turret. She aimed it in the general direction of the horde and pulled the trigger, stopping the next second.

"Fuck! That hurts!"

Hitomi shouted up to her. "Get the big one!"

Mako looked over the top of the turret and spotted the target Hitomi was talking about. "Oh, shit! What kind of fucker is that?"

Hitomi kept shouting at her. "Kill it! Kill it now!"

The turret spat lead at the monster in the crowd, blowing its head apart and flattening a good amount of the crowd as well. The undead were moving forward, not filling in the gaps. The middle of the crowd was thinner. Hitomi could tell her mother saw it, as they were still going straight at the mass of hell spawn. They were going right through.

Hitomi braced herself against the sides of the hatch just as they hit the first undead, smashing it into the ground. Once she was used to the shaking, she let go and aimed her rifle into the hordes just below her, their filthy hands reaching up to grab her. Bullets sprayed into the horde, blasting the tops off heads and tearing through torsos.

"Hey! Up here!"

Hitomi looked up just as they were heading under an overpass. At the other side, she watched as three young girls vaulted over the railing. They landed on the back of the APC. One, a blue-haired girl wearing a cape with an axe strapped to her back, quickly caught a fourth girl who dropped down after them. Hitomi opened another hatch, and they quickly dropped the scared-looking blonde girl inside. Closing the hatch, the blunette grinned.

"Alright, now we're moving. Erika! Koito! You hold that side! I'll help on this side!"

A younger blunette drew two hatchets, and a blonde girl produced a large drill. They started swiping their weapons at the masses as they drove through. Mako kept the turret trained forward, practically constantly holding the trigger like she didn't understand the concept of ammunition conservation. The girl with the axe drew her large weapon and knelt down beside Hitomi, casually swinging at heads as they passed.

"Name's Komaki Asako! That's my sister Koito, and Erika Mamiya! The girl inside is Oriko Mikuni! Where are you guys headed?"

Hitomi shouted back, not releasing her trigger as they went. "Hitomi Shizuki! We're headed for the military base!"

Another green flame flew overhead. Mako ducked halfway into the turret. "Motherfucker! What the fuck is that!?"

Hitomi scanned the area, spotting the culprit. "There! Demons!"

Komaki looked where she was pointing and saw three of the horned beasts. "Oh, damn, you're right! They do look like-" A green flame hit her in the face, knocking her onto her back.

Hitomi screamed and opened fire. The bullets scored, ripping through the monsters' knees and causing one of them to fall forward. Amazingly, Komaki got up again beside her. The girl raised her axe, aiming it at the monsters. A bluish barrier appeared in the air around the monsters, trapping them. On the other side, another demon rammed into the side of the APC. Erika pulled her drill back and drove it into the beast's head, the point coming out its back and spraying red everywhere. Another one appeared, shooting a green flame at the APC. It hit the wheels, knocking the whole thing on its side.

Komaki hit the ground and rolled. Hitomi managed to duck inside just before the APC flipped. Erika jumped to safety. Koito leaped the opposite direction, brandishing both hatchets, landed on the monster's shoulders and hacked at its neck. She pulled back, ripping its head clean off, and jumped down before the evil corpse hit the ground.

The APC was totaled, upside-down. Komaki, Erika, and Koito backed up to it as the hordes closed in. Inside, Hitomi's mother climbed over Kaito's burned corpse. She located the weapons compartment and pulled out the rest of the guns, handing them out and then smashing at the back hatch. Outside, Komaki turned and, in a single motion, cleaved the back hatch off its hinge. It fell to the ground with a metallic sound. Hitomi stepped out with her mother, rifles raised. Mako followed, wiping blood from her forehead, with Kazuko and Oriko behind her. Yuma stayed back, hiding in the APC until she was called.

Hitomi called out behind her. "Yuma, come on. We need to keep moving." The younger girl came out and took her hand. Hitomi turned back to the fast approaching swarm.


	16. Spreading The Disease

Kyosuke felt utterly useless. Sitting in a wheelchair, his hand destroyed and his legs simply not functioning, he could do nothing but sit and listen and try not to listen as people screamed and panicked on the other side of the door. Somewhere close to twenty other people, of all ages and walks of life, sat with him. The girl next to him was openly sobbing.

The door opened briefly, and a young woman stepped inside. It was the nurse who normally tended to Kyosuke on the night shift. She looked over the hospital patients, visibly shaken by whatever had happened just outside. She was on the verge of breaking down in front of everyone. If someone didn't step in...

A girl with glasses and black hair braided into pigtails leaned across in front of the small white-haired girl. "What do you think is going on?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. There was screaming, and now there's just-"

The door shattered, breaking down behind the nurse and knocking her into the people crowded in the room. A pile of screaming demonic-looking people covered in dark blood crawled over the door and into the room, hands clawing and teeth biting. Patients screamed in pain as the undead teeth sank into their flesh. The nurse watched a man's throat ripped out in front of her, then screamed, turned, and shoved her way through the room.

Kyosuke felt strong hands grab him and lift him up. He was hoisted over someone's shoulder before he knew it and carried to the window. And then he was falling, shoved out the window. He landed on a table out on the balcony for the room. Two men and three women managed to get out onto the balcony, the men carrying the two girls with them. The nurse was the last one through, and the other women shut the glass door behind her. A bloody hand hit the glass the next moment. The girls were put on the floor, and the men moved Kyosuke off the table and to their side before overturning the table and placing it in front of the door.

They all took a moment's pause.

The girls, two of the women, and even one of the men all looked in shock. Kyosuke felt it too. It was hard to breath with the thought of what just happened. What even did just happen? He had no idea. The nurse came into the room, and then suddenly there were people crowding in and there was screaming and shouting, and now they were outside with bloody people clamoring to get out after them.

The nurse shuddered. "Now... now everyone... listen to me. Those people in there... it's too late to save them."

One of the men stepped in front of her. "What, we can't even try? What the hell is going on?"

She shook her head. "No, it's just too late, and if we try we risk ourselves. We... at least we have these children here. We got them out of there... but it's not over yet. They're going to break through that door and come through that window any time now. They're all infected, and once you're infected you're driven to attack everyone else."

Kyosuke looked up at the nurse. "Is that what was happening out there? When you moved us all into that room?"

She looked at him, recognizing him. "Ah... yes. They came in infected and... they spread the disease through biting mostly, but it can be any transfer of fluid. A scratch or a cut... ingestion."

The man looked over to Kyosuke. "This is pretty heavy, kid. You okay?" Kyosuke let out a deep breath and shook his head. The man knelt down in front of him. "I'll get this other guy up and about, and we'll see if we can get these girls to safety. My name's Daisuke Itagawa. What's yours?"

"Kyosuke Kamijo."

The nurse offered her name, catching on. "I'm Tae Ota." She pointed at the girls. "I work with all the kids, so I know them. That's Homura Akemi and Nagisa Momoe." The girls didn't respond to their names being used.

Daisuke glanced around them. "Alright... Kamijo. Miss Ota. How do we get out of here?"


	17. Countdown To Extinction

Kyubey had watched, fascinated, the first time he saw one of the Humans biting chunks off another. He had seen it before, but not quite like this. The one being bitten was still alive, but slowly slipping away. The one biting had already died, and another soul had entered the body. Seeing the movement of souls helped a lot in investigating this strange occurrence.

He'd had to act fast. The number of prospective Magical Girls had dwindled suddenly and alarmingly. He had to hurry with what was left, and get as many as possible. He had discovered that the distinct properties of this virus were practically tailored to usurp all his work on this planet. An infected Magical Girl was dangerous beyond a Witch, as they maintained their resilience and power. To make matters worse, they did not become these shuffling undead either. Their souls were already separated from their bodies, and the process that created the undead involved ejecting the soul from the body. The process was much easier with Magical Girls, and thus they were dropping off at an alarming rate. The worst part was that they didn't become Witches, and therefore no new energy was created.

It was an energy crisis, in effect. Kyubey needed to find as many girls as possible and turn them to Magical Girls as quickly as possible. Erika Mamiya had contracted when told her friend Kirika was already a Magical Girl. Koito Asako was just as quick to jump at the chance to join her sister in battle. He had several good choices lined up, but it was silly to presume he could contract them all before some were lost. Sayaka Miki, Oriko Mikuni, Yuma Chitose, Nagisa Momoe, Homura Akemi, Madoka Kaname, Hitomi Shizuki... they were the top choices, in that order.

He knew Oriko, Yuma, and Hitomi were all together. Nagisa and Homura were also together. Madoka was with her family, so her survival chances were no less than anyone else in this situation. Right now, Sayaka Miki was his priority. She was currently holding the largest karmic destiny of all of them, and had been all alone until the little Incubator had led Mami Tomoe to her. She had yet to contract, but with everything that was happening it wasn't likely to take too long. Getting to the other girls afterward was going to be a challenge like Kyubey had never faced before. This virus certainly effected creatures other than just Humans.

An Incubator had been bitten. He could sense the mindless death through their race's telepathic link, but it was too late. Long story short, Kyubey was the only one left. He had no spare bodies remaining. It had all happened too fast for any sort of countermeasures. The only thing good was that the virus did not reanimate his kind. Everything was lost. But his mission remained. If this last body was lost as well, the mission would fail and the entire universe would die. So the stakes were higher than the survival of the Human race, but everything depended on it.

There were unanswered questions. Would the Human race survive? If not, would he be able to find another race with the amazing properties that made Humans so valuable? And about all of this... why? Why would these souls, and the other things, dare to destroy the only known race standing between the universe and ultimate annihilation? Furthermore, Kyubey had to wonder, would he be capable of reproducing on his own?

All aside, as soon as he realized the threat, he set up a signal to deter others from coming to this world. The virus could not spread, or there would be no universe to save.

All this, Kyubey thought silently. Not a single word of it did he say while Mami Tomoe was in the room.


	18. In The Still Of The Night

"Mom, stop. Hold up."

"What is it?" The woman's voice held concern.

Kirika grimaced. "Someone's coming."

They had been making their way through the streets as quickly and quietly as they could manage, and had run into very few zombies for their troubles. Kirika had been feeling for several minutes now that their luck was bound to turn around. If her senses were telling the truth, then that turn had arrived.

Behind Kirika, her mother whispered urgently. "Is it more zombies?" They had both adapted to using the term very easily.

Kirika shook her head. "No… it's worse. Another Magical Girl."

As if on queue, the predicted girl stumbled into the glow of the nearest streetlight. Kirika didn't know her, but the other girl recognized what the two of them had in common immediately. She called over. "How are you faring?"

Kirika didn't feel like shouting across the distance with a horde potentially around the next corner. "Stay close, Mom. I don't want to leave you back here, but there's no telling what she'll do."

The distance between them closed. The stranger gave a tired smile to Kirika. "Why are you… carting around useless baggage? Having to protect someone… will get you bit."

Kirika looked the girl up and down, noting her torn clothes. She was scratched and bitten all over. "I'm not abandoning my mother, but… I'm guessing you're speaking from experience?"

Shaking her head, the girl held out her hand. "I'm Rina. I was trying to protect my family and friends too. Didn't really work out, but I'm sure you can see that."

Kirika made quick work of shaking Rina's hand. "So… what do you know? Are you gonna heal up, or do Magical Girls turn into zombies just like everyone else?"

Rina sighed and shook her head. "Everyone that gets bit burns up with fever before they die. I don't… I feel cold." She coughed, clearing her throat. "But something is happening. I can feel it. I… don't want to find out what happens when a Magical Girl comes back."

Kirika knew her mother was standing right behind her. She didn't want to look at her right now. Her claws appeared out of her long coat sleeves. "I don't want to find out either."

Rina smiled. "Well… you've only got one person to protect. Maybe you'll do better than I did. I had five."

Kirika sighed. "Sorry to hear that." She plunged her claws through Rina's body, then ripped them out the side, spraying blood onto the street. The girl dropped to the ground on her side. Kirika slashed her claws through the body, tearing her head off and sending it flying.

It was silent for a long time, but Kirika didn't want to turn and face her mother after that. She didn't know what to say, and she didn't know what her mother would say. She didn't want to know right now. When her mother spoke, it surprised Kirika.

"Where's her soul gem?"

Kirika turned to look back at her. "What?" She looked around on the ground. "Uh… shit."

"Kirika!"

She nearly jumped out of her skin. "Ah! Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, get down!"

Kirika ducked without question, looking behind her to see what was coming. Something flew overhead. She didn't catch what it was exactly, but she could feel the heat coming off it. Whatever it was, it slammed into the ground nearby and exploded in a ball of flames. Seeing that her mother had not been hit, Kirika began to look for the source. She didn't have to look far.

A horde of zombies had been creeping up on them from the dark, and were now all around them. But the zombies held back. One thing stood ahead of the crowd, head and shoulders above them all. Leathery brown skin studded in boney spikes, long wicked claws, a mouth full of yellowed fangs, and glowing red eyes. More fire formed in its hand, and it seemed to smile.

Kirika stood, facing the monster head on. She kept her voice level and calm, though she was far from calm. "Mom… get ready to run."

Looking around and seeing they were surrounded, her mother asked, "Run where?"

"Right behind me."


End file.
